Unexpected Paradoxes
by Karthonox
Summary: An unfortunate incident within one of the deceased 8th Espada's secret labs has Soifon scrambling to get things back to normal before anyone finds out. Unfortunately not everything goes to plan, now she and a rather unexpected ally have to work together if they want to survive and make the best of an even worse predicament.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: **Hey, Just the beginnings of an idea I've had cooking for awhile now, in a sense, it is an amalgamation of several topics I've found to be interesting in the fandom. Since this is for a rather niche group I'm going to warn you now. If you don't like the idea of Soifon unwillingly becoming a hollow hybrid like Ichigo and the Vizard, or the possibility of time travel, then leave now. If you don't care about that, congratulations, you've got an open mind and I like you.

Please note that this takes place roughly one month after the Xcution Arc. I know that the time frame in which this lab was found is a little stretched, just pretend that Mayuri took his sweet ass time finding its location within the bucket of goodies he looted during the Winter War. I also know that some of the Vizard rejoined the Gotei 13, in this story they didn't and Soul Society's new Central 46 still harbors some animosity when dealing with the existence of hollow hybrids. In addition, all of the Movies and Anime exclusive Arcs never happened. I may take some minor things from them however, Suzumebachi's personality and appearance, for instance. Finally, I started writing this before the Vandenreich Arc, so there will be many things from that which I'll be ignoring.

I encourage and would greatly appreciate any rocks and flaming sticks you throw at me during your reviews, it will help me improve. Additionally, I will be making regular progress updates on my profile page, so if you want to know the current status of an upcoming chapter, look there.**  
**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach or anything pertaining to it.

* * *

**Chapter One.**

* * *

After hours of travel and much deliberation, she decided that she was now thoroughly agitated.

It wasn't the fact that she had been practically forced by Head-Captain Yamamoto to go along on this mission, it wasn't that she was constantly having to avoid all manner of traps that she was not informed of, or even that she was currently deep within enemy territory. Such things were actually quite common when she thought about it. No, what the real cause of her current agitation, was in actuality, the constant asinine comments from one of the most infuriating individuals she had ever had the pleasure of having to keep an eye on.

"CAPTAIN SOIFON!"

Speak of devil...

Frowning for the umpteenth time this day, she turned around from the odd looking creation she was currently musing next to and shot a glare at him that was so intense that few others besides Urahara were graced with it.

Forgoing honorifics, she replied in a tone bordering exasperation. "What is it now, Kurotsuchi..?"

"I told you not to go near any of the devices or potential research specimens! Why must I constantly have to repeat myself to simpletons who don't pay attention!?"

"Kurotsuchi, Just-" Stopping her mid-sentence, the circus-freak actually continued on with his inane tirade.

"It was a rhetorical question, you imbecile." After waving his hand around like the flamboyant clown that he was, he then pointed to an absent corner. "Why don't you just stand over there, where you cannot damage anything with your uneducated and grubby hands."

With a signature scowl still firmly in place, she decided at that moment that she would rather just search the final section of this disturbing laboratory to check for any more potential threats, if anything dangerous showed itself again it would be disposed of.

She knew that her actual assignment was to keep an eye on Mayuri while he performed his "Specimen and Technology Retrieval Mission", but she would be damned if one more of the deceased 8th Espada's little "presents" tried to sneak up on her again. She was already thoroughly berated during her self-defense when she destroyed multiple guardians and a machine that kept churning out these horribly annoying fat hollows that favored bouncing about to walking. So what would another obnoxious security measure being decimated matter? Mayuri would just have to deal with it.

With that ironed out in her mind, she turned to a direction Mayuri had definitely *not* pointed at and began walking to the entrance of said unexplored section.

"Kurotsuchi, I'm going ahead to secure the remainder of the lab, I should return shortly."

"Tch, fine... Just be sure that you don't. Touch. Anything!"

Completely ignoring him, she continued past the entrance and into the hallway that would lead to her temporary mental reprieve.

She could keep a better eye on the horrid man when she was sure the lab was arguably more secure to an extent and cleared of hostiles. Hopefully that last room they were in would sufficiently hold his interest until she finished.

* * *

"NEMU!"

"Yes, Master Mayuri?"

"I need you to analyze the remainder of those devices, immediately! We need to catch up with the good Captain in the final section, preferably before her ineptitude ruins anything with potential interest..."

"Of course Master."

With a look of complete disinterest, he turned away from his bowing Lieutenant and began making his way to a nearby cluster of terminals. Perhaps they held some information on their databanks; he might just find something intriguing to busy himself with while Nemu finished her analysis.

Pressing a fairly large button on one of the terminals, he looked up and smiled as various feeds and information passed on though the screen.

* * *

She was nearly done, just one room left in the entire section to clear and she could go back to the freak, pack up whatever is was that he came here for, and leave.

Fortunately, while the room she just entered was fairly large, it was relatively open, with various containment tanks and stasis pedestals lined against the walls. Beyond that, there wasn't much besides some connected machinery and the low humming noise coming from them. In short, it would not take more than a small glance to proclaim it cleared. Quite like the last few rooms she observed. But there was one key difference, these tubes and pedestals did not contain the usual odd hollow or have a device levitating in place. No, they were all vacant, with the exception of one pedestal located roughly in the back of the room.

Naturally this caused an interest to form. Upon closer inspection it appeared that whatever was in it, it was quite different from the rest of the things she had observed on her little trip here. Mayuri would certainly want it due to its isolation from the bulk of the other experiments and its uniqueness; and if he really wanted something, she especially wanted to know *exactly* what it was before the freak got his hands on it. That was the whole reason she was here for anyways.

Cautiously walking up to the stasis pedestal, she noticed that the object was an orb of a white liquid-like substance swirling about in place.

"Hmm..."

Leaning in further she noted that the swirling orb closely resembled what shoots out of a plus's face when they near the end of the hollowification process or the material that spews out of a hollow's wound when they perform Instant Regeneration.

That thought made her mind whir a bit.

_What in the name of the Soul King is this thing..?_

* * *

Frowning slightly, he continued reading through the various notes and information left by the 8th Espada.

_Hmm... So I won't be able to access the devices and specimens within the containment section, without first deactivating the stasis fields? Interesting. I doubt that Granz, the fool that he may have been, would leave his containment tanks without a secondary lock on each individual tank. So if I deactivate them, the contents shouldn't wander off. The stasis pedestals and the devices they contain probably don't have any additional precautions up, but should be fine regardless... Unless a certain Captain is foolish and close enough to touch them that is._

"Master, my analysis is complete."

Snapping out of his thoughts and turning his head slightly to view his Lieutenant, he let out an uninterested "Hmmh..?"

"Oh, yes... very good Nemu. Pack everything of value up and bring it outside, I'm finished with this room."

Turning back and shrugging to himself, he let loose another Cheshire-like smile and punched in a deactivation code he just liberated from the terminal's databanks.

_Well, I may as well deactivate the fields now and make my way to the containment section, I've been wandering about this pathetic excuse for a lab with little to show for it, judging from the logs he skimmed there should be at least one goody down there still. Hmmhehee!_

* * *

Something wasn't right, she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something in the environment of the room changed suddenly. Looking away from the floating orb and gazing at the various machines along the walls prompted her with the answer.

_The humming noise. It's stopped... hmm. Why?-_

Her thoughts were broken however, when she felt something latch on to her shoulder.

Flipping away, she simultaneously brought out Suzumebachi and cut at what appeared to be a tendril of white that had attached itself to her. She looked back to see what it came from, only to witness the white mass that previously held her attention reforming itself. It appeared to be preparing to move towards her yet again, that wasn't good, that thing wasn't supposed to be moving at all, it was supposed to be in stasis! The humming must have been the sound the machines were making while the stasis fields were active.

She had to flip out of the way again when several more tendrils launched forward and made an attempt to latch on to her. She slashed at them whenever they got near, but it seemed to be to no avail. More replaced them as their severed brethren either dissolved away or split off to form separate smaller replicas of the orb that had recently moved off the pedestal and began chasing her down.

_Mayuri probably did something to turn off the stasis fields. Damn, I should have known not to get so close to that thing. Foolish curiosity._

The orb and it's smaller replicas did not give her much time to dwell on that mistake. She soon came to find out that they were quite fast, not fast enough to catch her, but enough to keep her on her toes. Since they were capable of splitting themselves to engulf their target as well, it made her task of dodging and preventing them from doing whatever they were trying to do to her all the more difficult. After several minutes of various acrobatics and tedious slashing, she decided that cutting obviously had no effect. The orb simply reformed or split itself every time and she couldn't just constantly dodge it and it's tiny clones, that would obviously not get it to stop. Since she couldn't make use of Hakuda either, that left her with...

_The Demon Arts! If I can't make physical contact with it, then perhaps Kido could deal with it from range..._

Whipping herself around after a recent back-flip, she raised her hand in the direction of the strange orb and opened her mouth to begin chanting when something unexpected happened.

She began choking.

*Cough*... "What the... HMMLLPPH!"

She slumped to her knees as another coughing fit erupted from her throat. It was then, with wide eyes, that she began to notice a substance similar to that of the orb floating swiftly and fluidly from what remained of the forgotten tendril still attached to her shoulder, making its way above her face and splitting to just barely make a clot in her mouth. How could she have not noticed that thing still on her!?

After another round of coughing she managed to barely dodge the main orb and it's replicas one more time before once more slumping to her knees in another fit of coughs.

She just couldn't stop; her constant fits from whatever this thing was doing were immobilizing her. If she couldn't get out of the way soon the rest of it was going to finally reach her! She struggled to just move out of the way even a fraction, but it was difficult to even breathe! Alas, her struggle soon proved to be in vain however, as the original orb absorbed the surrounding replicas and shot down at her, bludgeoning into her head. The strange substance slowly began oozing down her face and forming the beginnings of *something* over it soon after. She couldn't quite tell what it was through her hacking fits. The fits that soon turned into muffled screams as the strange white material covered more and more of her face.

_What is this thing doing to me!? It feels... like the inside of my body is being ripped apart... UGHh! _

Her body was writhing and she couldn't do anything about it. The sheer agony of what was happening to her lasted for what felt like an eternity.

But eventually the pain stopped.

Whatever it was that was forming on her face was completed, leaving her kneeling, exhausted, and mortified. Cracking and shattering sounds could be heard and upon lifting a hand up and feeling around her face, she noted with much relief that there was nothing there besides some small clay-like chips stuck in her bangs. Whatever had been on her face was now gone. But she wasn't naive, that thing had done something to her and she needed to find out what. Taking a quick look around, she observed the many fractured clay-like remains that were degenerating into spirit particles around her and picked up one of the larger shards before it fully dissipated.

_An eye-hole and these yellow and black markings..? It almost looks like part of a hollow's... mask. But that would mean..._

With her eyes widening, she soon concluded that there was only one thing that could possibly explain what the hell just happened to her and that unnerved her, greatly.

_I can't believe this, how could I have made such a simple mistake! And now... Pathetic._

She crushed the remainder of the mask in her clenched hand. She needed to figure out what to do about this... incident.

Furrowing her brow and shakily getting herself up she continued her thoughts with growing dread.

_Mayuri can not be allowed to learn about what happened in this room, he'd sooner turn me into one of his guinea pigs rather than help fix whatever happened, I'd never see the light of day again, I refuse to allow that to happen! But what about Soul Society? I doubt the new Central 46 would allow for another like the Vizard or Kurosaki running around, too much of a potential threat. They would imprison me; strip me of everything I worked so hard for, and then they would probably have me executed..._

Letting out a frustrated huff, she decided she would work out the details about what to do with herself at a more appropriate time. Preferably when she wasn't in the middle of Hueco Mundo alone with an insane clown and his near robotic assistant that held the undesirable intent of dissecting her should they discover what had just happened.

Forcing herself to once more hold an expression of neutrality, she scrambled for a body stance that didn't broadcast that she was just assaulted by an unidentified flying object. Thankfully, the remainder of what she presumed a mask had fully vanished by then, no one would find out about what happened to her, just yet.

Her timing could not have possibly been any better, because the moment she straightened herself out, a loud voice more annoying than nails on a chalkboard assaulted her ear drums. That was soon followed by a sauntering owner with a thoroughly ridiculous grin.

"AH! There you are... I've been looking for you. I've nearly finished my retrieval of anything of use here; the only room left appears to be this one..."

Oh how she wanted to wipe that smirk off the man's face. She felt about ready to eviscerate him for what happened here.

But persevering with her current look of neutrality, she replied with a simple "I wouldn't bother, there's nothing here."

His usual grin swapped out with a frown nearly instantly.

"I'll decide whether there is anything of interest here, you foolish Woman! Why don't you go to the Garganta generator with Nemu and make yourself useful, since you're clearly incompetent when it comes to my sort of work! I'll finish up in this room and make sure it is properly examined. While you work on that *****hopefully***** simple task, so that we can leave.

Not even the fires within the deepest pits of hell could currently match her barely contained fury after hearing that, she now believed that she had found the one man more infuriating than Urahara himself.

With all the willpower she could muster to not turn around and kick the clown's face in, she responded with a seething "You do not order me around, Kurotsuchi. Don't take long, we'll be leaving soon."

She then stormed off towards the exit of the facility where Nemu would undoubtedly be found making preparations for a Garganta. She didn't need to stay and keep an eye on him, she already knew there was nothing left in that room and the others didn't have anything worthwhile.

Walking up the steps of the hallway she found that calming herself was proving to be a bit simpler than she had at first believed. Who would have imagined that the mental image of a certain freak being blown to smithereens by the nuclear force of her Bankai could be so relaxing? Considering how she abhorred her ludicrously sized Bankai, how odd it seemed then that it caused her a sense of such satisfaction in certain situations.

The sound of a distorted, cackling voice that eerily resembled her own efficiently changed that new-found calm however...

She hastened her pace considerably. She needed to get back and figure out a way to deal with her *condition*. Quickly.

* * *

He frowned, while reading the information on the terminal's database he discovered that there was supposed to be some sort of experiment in this room, one that was an attempt at forcing Hollowfication within a victim, Wholes and Soul Reapers alike. If what he read about the device was true, then it was similar to what was used on Tosen Kaname to grant him hybrid status without the use of the Hogyoku. Perhaps this one was meant for Gin Ichimaru, but was rejected by him.

Truly, it was an intriguing device... And he wanted it.

If he couldn't get his hands on Kurosaki or any of the Vizard, than getting his hands on this to create his own test subjects would make an excellent alternative.

Normally he'd just utilize the various notes left behind regarding whatever he was interested in and recreate it. Unfortunately the 8th Espada kept the majority of his research notes within his palace, the very palace that happened to be toppled to the ground a little over a year and a half ago. The database that told him this device existed only showed what it did and where it was. So he was stuck with just finding the device, then reverse engineering it to discover how it was made. Like most of the things he found in the 8th Espada's surviving labs.

But there was a problem with that plan. The prototype was missing, and assuredly not on the stasis pedestal the terminal had explicitly labeled as its location.

That detail did not make him pleased, not one bit, simply because that meant one of two possibilities.

Either A: Granz, in an act of such improbable stupidity managed to forget keeping an up to date status log on the device and it was never there to begin with. Highly unlikely, since he kept detailed records of everything he did, going as far as listing Aizen's borderline mentally ill amount of tea times.

Or the more likely, B: When he deactivated the stasis fields, the good Captain just so happened to be near the device. Upon detecting her spirit energy, it latched on to her. Given her slightly disheveled appearance that he noticed earlier and chalked up to her just being clumsy and falling down a flight of stairs, he concluded that perhaps she had found what he was looking for.

A Chesire-like smile practically split his face in two as he hit a sudden train of thought.

"And if that is the case, we can't have anyone knowing about your little dilemma too early, now can we?"

_A bold move not telling anyone what is going on with you Captain Soifon. But I wonder, when your uncontrolled hollow instincts start taking over and wreaking havoc about the Seireitei during battle, what will you do..? The new Central 46 is just as paranoid about hybrids as the last batch, they would most likely want to be rid of you. They wouldn't want another like the human boy running about, beings with that much power are a potential threat and they can't afford more of those, now can they? In addition the Head-Captain, in his boundless loyalty to the Court, whether he likes it or not, would enforce their decision of disposing of you. That will dissuade many from your pathetically small list of potential allies from helping you in your time of need. And then there will be me, waiting for that moment to take you off their worried little hands._

_Perhaps this turn of events, while considerably slower, would work out just as well as my previous plan. This way I can potentially have a Captain class soul for a test subject, how wonderful. Hmmhehee!_

* * *

**Ending Notes: **I'm going to get this out of the way now, I am not using Japanese honorifics or titles, it drives me up the fracking wall. Also, some Japanese terms will be used if there isn't a decent English translation for them, those will be few and far between though.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes: **Typing the disclaimer every chapter is going to be redundant. I hate redundancies. So much so it almost matches the boundless hate I have for the characters that are Orihime and Chad for simply existing.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach or anything pertaining to it.**  
**

* * *

**Chapter Two.  
**

* * *

With a dab of her pen, she finally completed her required mission report, minus any mention of a certain object or traumatizing event that took place nearly two days ago. Doing so made her disgusted with herself. Never before had she withheld such important information from her superiors, it was her duty to inform them of any potential threats to Soul Society.

And judging by the laughter in her head. That mad cackling she had heard on rare occasions since returning from her latest mission, she, for once, was failing that portion of her job in spades... she felt dirty just thinking of it.

She scrunched her brow and scowled, in her mind it was quite the conundrum, because she had always put loyalty and duty before anything else. But being forced to face the fact that her life was as good as wasted through execution or as one of Mayuri's lab rats put a new spin on things. Under normal circumstances she would have gladly given her life in service to the Court Guard Squads, but if Soul Society found out about all this then she wouldn't be dying in battle or for Lady Yoruichi, she wouldn't even be dying for honorable causes... she would just be exterminated because of an accident. To have her entire purpose for existing tossed out the window for something so... so stupid! It was a disgrace, and it did not sit well with her. Would she really just give up and resign herself to any of those outcomes without a fight? No, she had to do something...

But that was the trick, wasn't it? What could she honestly do with herself at this point?

Normally something of this caliber would need to be brought to up Mayuri, but she suspected her entire problem was his fault to begin with. Stasis fields that have remained active for well over a year don't just magically stop working like that; they had obviously been powered off. The fool probably didn't even know she was next to the damn pedestal inspecting the thing he would most likely form a great fascination with, when he deactivated the fields. The irony that she actually ruined it when he practically screeched at her not to even go near things was sickening.

If anyone in Soul Society could have helped her it would have been him. But there was the issue that she did not trust the man to go anywhere near her without an official order stating he wasn't allowed to mess with things he shouldn't. Seeing as how Central 46 probably would order the exact opposite of that meant she would have to visit him in secret. But doing so would almost guarantee her being strapped to a dissection table the moment they got to one of his labs. Even on the slight chance that he did help without doing anything unhealthy to her he'd use the whole situation as blackmail; she did *not* want him with that kind of power held over her head.

No, she couldn't trust the clown faced freak, she'd sooner beg Urahara for help, at least Lady Yoruichi could keep him in check. But that option... it was... it was just completely unacceptable! She'd never admit that she needed that irresponsible man's help.

She could try and keep a reign on things herself while hiding it from Soul Society. But that did not seem very feasible, she knew of Kurosaki's track record with losing control on the battlefield, that wouldn't last long before someone caught on and she'd end up right back where she started. The only reason he isn't dead right now is because he has so many emotional connections throughout the ranks of Soul Society that the result of offing him would be a civil war. How many would honestly care if the cold-hearted assassin with no friends got the axe? Those who did and would potentially aid her when Central 46 ordered her demise would have to face off against the Head-Captain, only this time there wouldn't be the news of false orders from Central 46 and Aizen's betrayal to stop him from reducing any of them to ash for disobedience.

What if she were to seek the Vizard out and ask them to spill their bag of tricks for even a hint of control? That didn't sound like a very plausible idea, actually. They resided in the human world and even if she did somehow manage to find their location, they would undoubtedly deny her any help because of what her job in Soul Society is. She could try to force the answers out of them, but she wouldn't be able to take on several hollow enhanced Captain and Lieutenant class ex-Soul Reapers by herself. So those options were as good as useless.

Shifting in her seat and with each passing moment it seemed that visiting Urahara was the only option left to her, short of turning herself in. But as she had decided earlier, she would not give up that easily. Even if it meant having to ask that despicable man for help.

She sighed to herself as she collected her report as well as a request for leave and inserted them within the pocket dimension of a nearby Hell Butterfly. Sending it off to the Head-Captain, she silently asked herself, so as to not be heard over the munching of her Lieutenant "What would Lady Yoruichi do..?"

Letting out yet another sigh, she knew exactly what her mentor would have done. As much as she hated herself for following through with what she was about to do, she knew it needed to be done. She just hoped that no one thought the resident workaholic suspicious for requesting a whole two weeks of leave time in the Human World. But first she needed to see Suzumebachi in a secure location, preferably somewhere private. She hadn't spoken with her Zanpakuto since coming back from Hueco Mundo and didn't know what would happen if she entered Jinzen with her recent changes. Better to be on the safe side after all.

Turning around to her grotesque Lieutenant, who just so happened to be stuffing his face with even more rice crackers instead of doing his work, as per usual. She decided she may as well get that small amount of secret and sadistic glee she gets from torturing him before leaving, she needed a motivational boost and this worked perfectly.

"OMAEDA!"

"YEAAAAiiGH!"

He practically jumped several feet in the air above his seat upon hearing his name being shouted, before promptly falling flat on his face.

Getting up and shakily holding his chair, he offered, in her honest opinion, a rather pathetic response. "Y...yes Captain?"

"I've recently sent off my latest report and a request for leave to the Head-Captain. When it is approved I'll be leaving for the next two weeks."

He seemed to be unable to process what she had just said, as if the idea of her taking time off was the sign of the apocalypse. His mouth gaping open and closed like a fish out of water, he responded with a simple. "Hungh?"

Closing her eyes and making her way to the doorway, she soon stopped several steps from leaving to send a glance over her shoulder.

"You will be in charge during my absence. If your duties are not done and your paperwork is not properly completed and turned in by the time that I get back, then there *will* be consequences..."

"B-but Captain, I..."

"Surely you're capable enough not to screw up for two measly weeks, Omaeda. The fate of your precious rice cracker supply will be depending on it..."

"Y-yes, of course Captain. I won't let you down!"

"Good."

She nodded to herself and walked out the doorway of the office.

Making her way through her squad's barracks she smirked and noted with satisfaction that the reaction he had on his ugly face was, once again, priceless.

* * *

She did not often come here, doing so would potentially lead more people than desired to know about her mentor's secret training ground under Sokyoku Hill. But for an occasion such as this, she felt it absolutely necessary to have complete privacy and there was no better place for that than here.

Deciding that she was far enough away from the entrance, she plopped down next to the nearest rock formation and crossed her legs whilst pulling out Suzumebachi. Starting up the process of Jinzen, she couldn't help but anticipate what the state of disarray her Inner World probably was in before her vision went black.

Opening her eyes and making a quick survey within her general vicinity, she decided that her Inner World had the same usual theme of a man-sized hornets' nest, no changes in that regard. That meant her current condition at the very least didn't alter that. Good.

A closer look at the nearly endless clusters of paper honeycombs forming the walls of her inner world, however, revealed that a good number of them were cracked, broken, or empty and based off of the unusually manic movements of the fist-sized hornets flying about, meant, sadly, that things weren't completely normal. Not so good.

Normally, everything would look nice and neat, the paper honeycombs would all be intact and full. in addition the hornets would not be behaving in such a frenzied manner. Put simply, it was a mess. Considering messy meant that she was in a state of mental disarray, she could tell this visit was going to be even less enjoyable than it normally was with her obnoxious Zanpakuto spirit, Suzumebachi always tried to *cheer* her up when her Inner World is like this.

Sighing, she got up from where she was sitting and made her way to the center of her inner world, where Suzumebachi would without a doubt be lounging on her little throne or bouncing off the walls. She wasn't sure which it would be this time; the spirit's behavior had always been a tad erratic when it came to that. However, whatever she had expected when she walked in the spirit's often frequented room, was not what she was currently witnessing. Suzumebachi and what appeared as a black and white version of herself were chatting it up and giggling...

_For the love of the Soul King, please do not tell me that the new entity I've never seen before in my inner world is *not* the source of my predicament and currently having a casual conversation with my Zanpakuto. _

Logic dictated that as being the case, what else could explain the sudden appearance of that *thing*. But there was a chance to hope that it wasn't... right..?

Scowling slightly as she made her way further in the room and closer to the doppelganger in question. She decided that she wanted a definite answer.

Pointing to the black and white clone she coldly asked "You, explain what you are and what your intentions are. Now."

The look-a-like spun around and let loose one of the creepiest and widest smiles she had ever seen. It looked like it would split her face in two; she didn't even think her face was capable of doing that!

**"Oh, so the Queen has finally come to visit, well now this is a surprise. I didn't think you'd come any time soon based off of what I heard."**

Her scowl deepened greatly.

"Answer the question. Now."

Her temper slowly began to rise further when Suzumebachi decided to come and dart in front of her face, making a visible effort of being obnoxious and energetic by performing multiple loop-DE-loops.

"Calm down Shaolin, you haven't even met her yet and you're already trying to bite her head off! You should ease up a bit and not scowl so much. 

The tiny spirit actually started to nod to herself. "It might actually make the walls fix themselves faster!"

**"She makes a good point you know? Besides, you seem to already have a basic idea of what I am and how I got here. As for my intentions... well, I guess you'll just have to wait and see, who knows what could happen hmm..? you could have some fun!"**

Her hearing must have been off, she could have sworn that her Zanpakuto just defended what she was fairly sure was a hollow representation of herself, one whom just openly left what seemed to her as a veiled threat.

She shot a seething glare at her discolored clone. "And I take it that asking you to simply remove yourself from my being won't work, will it?"

**"You're right. I'm afraid it doesn't quite work that way, I'm stuck with you, just as much as you're stuck with me! But don't worry; I'm sure that we can be good friends."**

With a dejected sigh she simply stated. "I figured as much."

Looking over to Suzumebachi she asked. "Are you capable of helping me control her until I can work something out?"

Suzumebachi took a few spaces back, but continued on with her aerial acrobatics.

"Yeah. sure, whatever. But hey, you shouldn't worry too much over her, she really isn't that bad, in fact she keeps me company! It kind of gets lonely in here since you don't like talking with me. You should at least listen to my advice and get a boyfriend or something if you're going to ignore me so much!"

**"I like that idea, you're isolationism really isn't healthy. Hell, even another woman to keep you company would work if you swing that way. I won't judge."**

She was putting as much effort as possible in maintaining her scowl and preventing the inevitable blush of combined rage and embarrassment. Just what she needed, another Suzumebachi, only this one had her face.

She ultimately decided not to say anything that would rile the hollow too much though. It currently wasn't doing anything hostile or malicious besides discussing her current relationship status with Suzumebachi and if all she was doing at the moment was talking about ridiculous topics with her Zanpakuto, than she could most certainly work with that until she found a way to get rid of her. There was just one more issue to take care of before leaving, her... condition was induced a bit differently than the way both the Vizard and Kurosaki's reportedly were, she needed to know if Suzumebachi knew about any additional issues that may have formed.

"Suzumebachi, is there anything else that I should know about before I leave? Any changes out of the ordinary, besides the obvious?"

Darting off to her throne she replied with a simple "Nope! Nothing except for our new friend! Later party pooper!"

Oh how that little pest plays her nerves.

**"Come back soon. Just make sure not to get caught and die, it would be a shame if it turns out the drone was more capable than the Queen. Hmhehe!"**

Slowly swirling into blackness, her look-alike gave one final chuckle before completely dissipating into the rapidly closing void.

Deciding to file that last comment away for later and seeing that she obviously wasn't going to get anymore answers, she felt it to be a perfect time to leave. Closing her eyes and blacking out once more, she awakened out of her Inner World and made her way to the exit. She would stop by her quarters at her squad's barracks and prepare for the trip to the Human World that she would be making soon.

* * *

**Ending Notes: **Coming up with an Inner World for her was interesting. Not the most original idea on my part, but I felt that it fit to a degree. It was better than my twenty other ideas that were far more terrible, boring though it may be. Blame my narcolepsy for lack of inspiration.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes:** Thank you for the reviews, I've been looking for that kind of feedback, it helps me more than you would believe. Keep them coming.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach or anything pertaining to it.

* * *

**Chapter Three.**

* * *

He just stared at the paper, his aged brow furrowed even further than its norm. This was an unusual request.

"Hmmm..."

A most unusual request from the Second Squad's Captain indeed.

So unusual, one might say, that the request seemed like it would have been unheard of. In the entirety of Shaolin Fon's time as a Captain of the 13 Court Guard Squads, he could count on one hand alone how many times that he witnessed such an oddity. There was only one thing that he knew of in this reality that would prompt this occurrence and cause her to change her normally unwavering routine of work.

Yoruichi Shihoin

It seemed that the Second Squad's Captain wished to visit her old mentor; the two had always been close before Shihoin's exile. Whatever the reason for the visit, he couldn't bring himself to care enough to conceive of what it was, what his Captains did on their free time was their business. So long as it did not involve the endangerment of the Seireitei.

Although he did frown at her request taking place in the Human Realm, if that is where she wished to go however, then so be it. He would not deny her that. Even the staunchest of warriors and defenders need to break from their usual bounds of responsibility and duty. Not even he, The Head-Captain, could have lasted through the mental rigors he had with his age, without taking a small amount of personal time for himself every now and again.

"I will allow this request. Captain Soifon, in the hopes that you find the mental reprieve that you seek."

Bringing his "approved" stamp down upon the paper, he decided that perhaps, after several hours of paperwork, that he too should take the time to relax and make his way to the hot-springs. If only but for a few moments. He had not been in some time and the waters could always do with some added heat.

Depositing his stamp in a nearby ink tray and picking himself up from his ornate desk, he made his way to his Lieutenant, Approval forms in hand.

"Arrange a Hell Butterfly to send off this approval to the Second Squad's Captain, Lieutenant Sasakibe."

"Of course Head-Captain, would there be anything else that you require?"

"No. That will be all, Lieutenant Sasakibe. Thank you."

Shifting his weight on his cane and trotting towards the double doors leading out of his barracks, he noted that perhaps he should push for a new law requiring regular reprieves for his Captains, with the exception of Captain Kyoraku. That boy slacked off more than what was acceptable.

* * *

_Travel pack? Check._

_Bed roll? Check._

_Several changes of clothing? Check._

_Emergency rations? Bandages? Disinfectant agent? Check, check, and check._

She had just gotten a Hell Butterfly back informing her that she was cleared to leave when ready. Currently though, she was in her personal quarters, making sure everything she needed for her little trip was accounted for. As it so happens, everything appeared in order, well, except for one last thing...

She took a glance over at her open closet and at the normally hidden collection of black cat toys.

Biting her lip, she realized that she had come to a bit of an impasse. Only one wouldn't hurt..? right? No one would find out if she just tucked it in her kosode during the night, would they? Marching up to her closet she quickly swiped one of the smaller stuffed black cats and forcibly shoved it down to the absolute bottom of her travel pack. Hopefully no one would see it during her stay.

**_"Yep, you're not obsessed in the slightest bit. hmhehe"_**

She scowled. Great, now it could talk to her instead of just laugh outside of her Inner World, just what she needed.

"Be silent, your input was not asked for."

**_"Well it's true, did you even notice how fast you stuffed that poor thing in your bag? it looked like you were trying to hide the cookies you stole from the jar."_**

Throwing her arms to her sides she yelled "I have no such obsession!"

**_"I can still see its tail peeking out from the top; I don't think you covered it enough."_**

With wide eyes, she frantically searched for any spots she may have missed in trying to hide her cat plush. She couldn't seem to find the mentioned spot. Which rattled her, someone with her observational skills should be perfectly capable of finding it!

"Where! I'm sure it was sufficiently hidden!"

**_"Not an obsession hunh? Why go to such lengths to hide it then?"_**

She crossed her arms and failed to mask her flustered voice.

"Well I... I..."

**_"Oh, and I lied, you covered it fine, I just wanted to prove a point."_**

"You are such an aggravating-"

She stopped herself and after blinking several times, thought about what had just happened and what had just been said in her little exchange.

"Well... Perhaps... I have a small issue... But no one asked you! I suggest you keep your comments to yourself from this moment forth!"

**_"Fine, I'll stay quiet, for the time being. But you know, what would someone say if they saw you talking to yourself hmm? They may think you have a few screws loose. You may want to keep our future conversations restricted to your thoughts; you wouldn't want us to get caught now would you?"_**

She opened her mouth to utter a retort and then promptly shut it. There was an echoing chuckle at the back of her mind following that act.

With a slight huff, she closed her travel pack and made her final preparations, it was time to leave. The Kido Corps would be waiting for her, preparing the Senkaimon and she did not like making people wait.

Slapping the travel pack over her shoulder she made her way out of the Second Squad's barracks and to the Senkaimon.

Normally a trip like this would prompt the need for a Gigai so one could interact with the environment. But for this particular trip, she decided she would not be confined to one of those restrictive devices. To get one she would need to make a visit to Squad Twelve. Which was out of the question, it was run by a certain clown that she held no desire to go near at any time in the foreseeable future. She didn't need one for what she had intended on doing anyways. Hopefully the hat wearing fool would be able to help her. She may have to do some ludicrous favor at some point for him, but at least she could put all this behind her if he did manage to somehow fix her problem.

* * *

He just stood there with a smile, watching the video feed on his monitor.

"So she's leaving Soul Society. My, my... I had not expected her to do that. How Interesting."

_I highly doubt she is going to the Human World for a vacation; such a possibility would be preposterous concerning that woman. No, she may be going to her mentor for advice on what to do with her miserable self. Seeking out the Vizard then? No... they wouldn't even speak to her due to her position in the Court Squads. Perhaps the more unthinkable for her, asking my old scientific adversary for aid? If that is the case and she somehow manages to overcome her extreme dislike of that man and ask for his help, then she should be in for a nasty surprise. He has already failed at *fixing* the Vizard and that was when he possessed the Hogyoku. In addition, he had well over one-hundred years to find a solution; but in that time he has produced nothing that can reverse the effects of Hollowfication._

He chuckled at bit at that and leaned closer to the screen.

_Oh, I'm afraid that your new condition is very irreversible, short of being slain and cleansed by a Zanpakuto, my good Captain. In two weeks you'll either be crawling back to Soul Society awaiting your inevitable doom, or you'll by some slim chance work up the ability to actually defy authority and be on the run. Both work sufficiently for me, I'll be able to get my hands on you either way without repercussion, given enough time. _

With his mental monologue complete, he shut down the computer. He had other business to conduct before the day ended and was on a strict schedule, new poisons don't concoct themselves after all. Besides, he'd have all the time in the world to observe his new project later on in the week.

* * *

It was well into the night by the time she had reached Urahara's Shop.

Stepping up to the front door she found herself hesitating. This whole ordeal will be very unpleasant and she was not looking forward to it.

This was it though. One knock away from a conversation with a man that she *really* did not want to partake in, but desperately needed to.

letting out a sigh and steeling herself for the inevitable barrage of his no doubt agonizing theatrics, she knocked.

Only to be greeted several minutes after with no answer.

She furrowed her brow and knocked again.

To be answered once more, by nothing... Was that fool deaf?

Scowl firmly in place, she all but bashed down the door.

This time she finally got an answer when a shaggy looking Urahara cracked the door open slightly. Upon seeing her he whipped out one of his fans to cover that stupid grin of his, while jokingly proclaiming. "You know, you didn't have to hurt my poor door like that. You could have simply walked in, Miss Soifon."

"I don't have time for your jokes Urahara, there is something important that I need to discuss with you. Immediately."

Extracting the fan from his face, he put a hand on his chin, in a pose of thought.

"Ohh... Is that right? Well, if it's so important that you of all people came to visit me personally, I suppose we could skip the greetings and small talk, hunh?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Please do, it would be preferable to wasting time needlessly."

Moving out of the way he opened the door fully and motioned to a nearby doorway with his fan. "Come on in and take a seat then."

Scoffing at the man's showy antics, she made her way to the nearby makeshift meetings room and plopped down on one of the nearest cushions.

Tipping his hat slightly forward, he asked the big question. Only it wasn't the correct one. "So, what does Soul Society need from this humble shop keeper?"

Lowering her eyelids, she decided to just spit it out and get it over with. "It's not Soul Society that needs the help exactly. I on the other hand, do..."

This managed to get him to bring his head up slightly and even though it was difficult to see, he raised a brow several fractions. "I must say, this is unexpected. What could you possibly need my help with..?" Scratching his chin, the man put visible effort into looking sheepish. "I don't think you've ever trusted me this much."

"I don't. But coming to you was my only available option. On a recent mission nearly two days ago now, I had a bit of an... incident. And I need your scientific expertise to reverse what was done."

He just shot her a probing look, his usual smile gone. "Why not see Mayuri about it, surely he would have been more convenient and just as able to perform whatever was needed as well as I could? I mean, that's what he's there for, right?"

She frowned at the mere mention of that freak's name. "He's part of the reason that the incident happened in the first place! Unintentional or not. Besides, if he found out what happened to me I would conveniently disappear and never see the light of day again the moment I allowed him to examine the issue."

He pulled out his fan once again and covered his face. "I see... That bad hunh? Something very interesting must have happened to you then."

Sighing, she shifted her gaze down to her lap. "I was to keep an eye on Mayuri and aid in clearing out a recently discovered lab of the 8th Espada. I found something under stasis that I felt suspicious of and I wanted to get a closer look at it before Mayuri hoarded it without anyone knowing what it was. Unfortunately, my timing was horribly off and Mayuri had just decided to deactivate the stasis fields the moment I was inspecting it. Shamefully, I was caught off guard and did not expect that the very thing under my scrutiny had the potential to move or be detrimental to me on its own accord. It managed to latch itself on to me and somehow induced me to partially Hollowfy in a way similar to the Vizard, I think... It hasn't caused any problems yet, but I want to be rid of the condition before something does happen."

"My, my Miss Soifon, that's quite a story. If I didn't know you so well I would say you were pulling my leg."

She deepened her frown. "I assure you, this is no joke. If anyone back in Soul Society found out what happened on that mission... well, I'm sure you of all people can predict the outcomes."

"Yamamoto would have been somewhat sympathetic after everything that has happened, but he isn't in charge now that there is a new Central 46... You think that if they knew about what happened that they'll want to have you dealt with like the other Vizard and hollows?"

She looked up and narrowed her eyes at him. "I know that you have experience with this issue, Urahara. Find a way to fix me. Now."

"You should really ask for things more nicely, Soifon."

Whipping her head around and looking at the new voice that spoke with wide eyes, she nearly kicked herself, how did she not notice her in the doorway? "L-Lady Yoruichi! I didn't know that you were here."

The woman she admired so much just looked at her and smiled. "Don't worry Soifon, I'm sure Kisuke can think of something to fix your little issue... Won't you Kisuke?

The man just closed his fan and put it back in his kosode, not bothering to hide his facial expression, which seemed to be a deep frown now. "I'm afraid there isn't much I can do, that condition is permanent. I've stopped trying to do what you just asked of me nearly fifty years ago and that was when I had the Hogyoku."

Her face was slowly verging on the look of panic, she could just tell. At that moment she wanted to just slam her head on the table and scream. Could her luck honestly get any worse? Not even the fool could help her? She was honestly stuck like this?

Lady Yoruichi seemed to shoot Urahara a slight glare. "Surely there is something you could work on to help her, Kisuke..?" If I remember correctly there was one thing..."

Giving off a deep sigh and scratching the back of his head, he finally plopped down on one of the pillows. "There may be one thing to go off of... A long time ago I had worked on a certain theory with Tessai, the whole process is kind of dangerous. I've never tried anything like it before and I personally have no clue if it will work or not, the possibilities of what might happen are kind of scary to be honest. Not to mention, it is highly illegal. As if that matters at this point, you simply existing in your current state is against the law."

A glimmer of hope seemed to spark at that. Like he said, she was already technically a felon for just existing in her current state, so it being illegal didn't matter. Whatever the risks were, terrible luck be damned, she would take them if it would just make her normal again before anyone else found out.

"Before I make the preparations for it though, I need to know. Are you absolutely certain you want to go through with this? The Vizard agreed that it was too risky for them, granted their case was a bit different when I finally came up with this. The thing that is important however is that whatever happens, you must be capable of accepting the consequences if things go wrong."

She gave him a firm look. "I accept the risks, whatever they may be. Just do what you need to do, so I can put this whole ordeal behind me!"

"But I haven't even told you what those risks are, or what I'll be trying to do yet."

"I don't care how you do it, Urahara. Just do it."

He sighed again. "Alright... I'll talk to Tessai and see what we can do... if I'm right it will take a week or so to get everything ready. You'll need to find a place to stay in the meantime... I'd offer you a spot here, like usual, but it seems all my spare rooms are occupied at the moment by Ichigo's friends. They came along not too long ago for a few training sessions; the ordeal with Xcution rattled them a bit, so they've been coming here on the weekends when they don't have school. It gives them more time if they don't have to walk back all the way to their houses."

Her eyes darted around the room at that, she couldn't sense them, but she had to be sure, She did not need anyone else knowing about her current condition.

He let loose a small grin. "Don't worry, none of them even know you're here, they're still in the training grounds. Your secret is safe, though I doubt they would care in the first place."

She nodded. "where would you recommend I stay for the time being then?"

Lady Yoruichi took that moment to head towards a trap door to the training grounds and looking back towards her she grinned. "I happen to know a perfect place you could go!"

Opening the hatch, she yelled at the top of her lungs. "HEY, ICHIGO! GET UP HERE; TRAINING IS DONE FOR THE NIGHT!"

She just stared at the woman with a slack jaw. "You can't be serious. You honestly intend for me to bunk with... *him*?"

"Yep, you need a place to stay for a few nights and Ichigo's place is where all the Soul Reapers hang out when they visit here. What better a place to visit for a few days?!"

"That shouldn't be necessary Lady Yoruichi... I can locate a remote location to rest in."

The woman just looked at her with an unnerving twinkle in her eye and a broad smile, one which could only be assumed as full of playful glee.

"Oh come now Soifon, you could talk to him about your condition. Think of it like information retrieval, you get to learn all sorts of stuff about it. I'm sure you'll find those conversations insightful even if you get yourself fixed up in the future. And who knows, maybe you could bash some manners into his thick skull at the same time. Besides, it's only natural that my only two apprentices get to know one another, I don't think either of you have been formally introduced. You never know, it could be fun and it's only for a few days!"

**_"I told you if you waited we would get to have some fun!"_**

_And I told you not to pester me!_

Now thoroughly mortified by that little reminder. She thought that if the voices in her head didn't shut up soon, then perhaps the Substitute would have some form of suppression method for shutting up certain annoying mental entities. She looked at her mentor with a resigned expression. "If you insist, Lady Yoruichi. You make several decent points...

At that moment, her forcibly new-found host heaved himself out of the hatch. "You're kicking me out already, hunh, Yoruichi? I know I was going to leave in twenty minutes anyways, but what about the others? They get to stay and I don't? What kind of crap is that!?"

"Yep, I'm kicking you out Ichigo, sorry, but I need you to do something for me."

She forced down an urge to lash out at the man for addressing Lady Yoruichi so inappropriately, how dare he speak to her so disrespectfully? Instead, she opted to clear her throat.

That seemed to garner his attention, as he set a deadpan expression on his face and pointed towards her. "Hey, Yoruichi, Hat-and-Clogs, What is she doing here? I think I've only seen her a few times, I didn't know you all were friends.

The man's ignorance was astounding.

"That's actually what I need you for Ichigo. She's going to be spending a few nights at your place, you're fine with that right?"

He just swiveled his deadpan look to Lady Yoruichi and sighed, "you really enjoy dumping surprises on me and then expect me to comply without complaint, don't you..?"

"Yep."

"What. The. Hell. Yoruichi..."

"Just do it Ichigo, think of it as repayment for you and Renji breaking down the walls during your fight last week."

"Fine. What's-your-name, come on, I'm leaving." after taking a few steps out the door he turned back. "Hat-and-Clogs, tell my friends I'll see them tomorrow, alright?"

The man in question just whipped out his fans and waved them around. "Sure thing, you two have fun settling in now!"

Giving one last look at Lady Yoruichi's smirking face and sighing to herself, she made her way out the door to follow the orange headed Substitute. This was going to be a long week.

* * *

"They're going to kill each other, you know that right?"

"I'm sure they'll be fine Kisuke. Thank you by the way, she would have been devastated and I've already let that happen to her once. I don't know what she would have done if we didn't try something."

"Don't thank me yet... There was a reason I didn't do this all those years ago and why I didn't originally say anything. If my main theories are wrong, this will potentially change or ruin more than just her life. If so, she might have been better off just hiding out with us and learning some control from Ichigo."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure it will work out Kisuke, I trust you to make everything turn out fine."

He smiled to hide what he was really feeling. For once, in a truly long time, he felt unsure of himself. Messing with something like this was dangerous.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes: **Toss more flaming sticks or stones at me! I don't care if you tell me I'm trash and throw a Cero at my face. Come on, I'll take a note from Kenpachi and give you one free shot!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach or anything pertaining to it.

* * *

**Chapter Four.**

* * *

He knew she was a Captain, the Haori on her and past sightings with the others told him that much. It was odd though, he was fairly well acquainted with most of the Captains, but the funny thing was that he never got to knowing this one's name. He may have heard it once or twice in the past, but honestly, if he had heard it he'd forgotten by now. Looking back at things, he supposed that was because the only time he had remembered ever really speaking to her was when they were half dead and fighting Aizen, not exactly the best of times to learn someone's name. The fact that she was never really around when he came to visit Soul Society didn't help his memory either, but at least now he knew why. She seemed almost as anti-social as Ulquiorra, at least he spoke to him!

The irony that he knew less about the woman he was forced into lodging over at his house than he did the 4th Espada was not lost on him.

Speaking about homes, he decided that the trip back to his was officially creepy. She hadn't said a damn thing yet, even when he tried to open up a conversation. Instead, she seemed perfectly content to just glare at the back of his head. Maybe he should ask her something again, hopefully she'd answer.

He turned his head slightly to look at her face. "So, why are you here anyways, Yoruichi didn't say anything about why you needed a place to crash at."

Nothing. The frown just deepened at him and the glare continued. The way she was acting you'd think he kicked her cat or something!

He just twitched his eye and turned his head back. It was starting to piss him off.

Sighing, he continued up the street that his house was on. He just wanted to know why the hell she was here. Someone as strong her wouldn't have come around unless there was something big going on, but he hadn't noticed anything like that lately, so what gives? What was Soul Society preparing for this time? Or was it that Yoruichi and Hat-and-Clogs were up to something again? Whatever it was, someone had better tell him what was happening soon. He was really getting tired of being left out of the loop.

After several more moments of silence that felt like an eternity, they finally reached his house. Looking back at his quiet companion, he felt that she would be better off not going through the front door. Something told him that she would not take too well to one of his family's eccentric greetings and he really didn't want to worry Karin or Yuzu with more of his *Spirit Business*.

He made a gesture to his window. "I know you've been ignoring me the entire way here, but you might want to hop through my room's window to get in. I'd rather not try and explain why you're here to my sisters and my dad is just plain annoying."

Surprisingly she raised an eyebrow, nodded, and made off towards the pointed direction.

_Well what do you know? She doesn't ignore me all the time after all._

If he wasn't in his human body he would have preferred to go in that way as well. Lately he just dragged his body along to Urahara's for safekeeping, a direct result of Kon being unable to behave himself while he went training. Speaking of which, he seriously hoped Kon didn't try anything stupid before he got to his room. That Captain would probably rip his head off if he does what he usually does.

Opening the door he caught a quick glimpse of what was going on inside and promptly slammed it shut, only to open it up once again several seconds after hearing a loud *thud* from the other side.

Glancing down at the floor, he witnessed his father nursing his now wounded nose. "Well done my son! Your reflexes have improved once more!"

"Leave him alone goat face, geez; do you have to do that every single time he comes home?"

He rolled his eyes at both his father and his sister's comment, never a dull moment. "Whatever, I'm going to my room. Let me know when we're eating."

He started for the stairs when he was stopped by his father placing a hand on his shoulder. Leaning in further, his father had his serious look on and whispered, presumably so Yuzu and Karin could not hear him. "I sensed a Great Spiritual Power come in from your room, is everything going alright?"

He frowned. "A Captain. Yoruichi didn't say why she was here; she just wanted me to let her stay a few nights until the others were cleared out of Urahara's place."

His father just nodded and let him go, he then ran off with his usual smile plastered on his face towards the kitchen.

"YUZUUUU! Don't start making the rice cakes without daddy!"

Shaking his head at his father's antics, he just made his way up the stairs and to his room.

* * *

She had only spent several moments in the room, patiently waiting for the Substitute, when she spotted some movement in the corner of her eye. Snapping in the direction of what caught her attention yielded something brightly colored and loud shooting out towards her from a nearby closet. To say she was a little jumpy concerning anything that shot out at her would be putting it lightly. Whatever it was, it soon found itself on the underside of her shoe being squashed to death. The muffled cries coming from it soon after made her curious enough to lift her foot however.

Whatever it was, it began jumping up and down and pointing at her almost immediately after her foot was lifted.

"Hey! What's the big idea, coming into Ichigo's room through the window like some burglar! Just who are you anyways?! You better not be up to something Missy!"

That couldn't be the Mod Soul, could it? Kurosaki honestly stuck him into a doll? Pulling out Suzumebachi she swiftly brought it close to the Mod Soul's neck and sent him a sharp glare. "Why did you attack me?"

"Uuuhhh..."

It seemed she wouldn't get an answer from him though, before the Mod Soul could continue with his unintelligible response, the door to the room opened.

The Substitute just took in the scene they were currently in. Then walked towards them and picked the Mod Soul up, bringing him to his scowling face. "Kon, go to Yuzu and Karin's room or hide somewhere else in the house for a while."

The little Mod Soul flailed his arms about wildly. "But Ichigo! She could be no good, what if she tries something funny and you need my help?!"

She sheathed her Zanpakuto after that comment, he clearly wasn't a threat.

"It's fine Kon."

The Mod Soul crossed his arms. "No it's not! Do you even know her name? I've never seen her before."

She swore she saw the Substitute's frustration visibly rising. "Kon, just shut up and get the hell out! I can't have you harassing and trying to grope her when she will be staying with us for the next few nights."

The Mod Soul managed to mumble out. "Hmph, fine! It's not like she had much of a chest anyways." Before the substitute wound up punting him out the door and slammed it shut.

Glaring at the doorway, she swore to herself that the next time she saw that little creep that she would make him suffer.

"As annoying as Kon is, he does have a point. I don't know your name or why you're in Karakura Town. Finding that stuff out would be nice, you know?"

She clasped her arms behind her back and pursed her lips. "I am astonished that after all this time you have yet to memorize the names of all the Captains, Kurosaki. I wonder how it is possible that you embroil yourself so thoroughly in our affairs and yet understand so little?"

He scowled at her "Just answer the damn question for once."

The Substitute was most likely worried that some new plot was forming and wanted to know about it, he would be sorely mistaken. She decided upon telling him a partial truth, his help wasn't exactly needed just yet and if all went to plan she wouldn't have to even tell him about her condition at all.

"You may address me as Captain Soifon. My reason for being here is both personal and irrelevant, it has nothing to do with the Soul Society and you needn't worry about your precious town."

His face visibly relaxed at that. Good, he wouldn't question her any further than that.

"So, vacation then?"

Or so she thought.

"Not quite..."

Moving away from the door the Substitute plopped down on his bed. "You don't talk much, hunh?"

She pursed her lips once more. "I fail to see much of a reason to do so, I am only here because Lady Yoruichi requested it and because you can provide specialized help on a certain topic should I deem it necessary. I did not come here to take part in useless conversation."

"Has anyone ever told you that you make a slightly rude guest?"

She was starting to get tired of this and decided to show it by glaring at him. "Just show me to my quarters, Kurosaki."

He just sighed and motioned around the room with his arms. "You're looking at it. I can get you a pillow and a mat if you need them."

Surely Kurosaki was joking? She was starting to regret listening to Lady Yoruichi and not finding a secluded spot somewhere in the outskirts of town.

"You don't have any spare rooms?"

"Not unless you want to sleep inside my closet like Rukia did or explain to Karin and Yuzu what Soul Society is."

She just sighed; he was awfully intent on not allowing his family to know about her presence here. The father wouldn't matter; he was once a Captain and would have undoubtedly sensed her the moment she got close to this house. But it was still ridiculous, surely by now they had seen other Soul Reapers come here, why would them seeing her make a difference now? But she supposed in the end, it wouldn't matter in a week or so anyways.

"No, the floor will be sufficient when the time comes, I have my own bed roll, your offer for a mat and pillow are unnecessary."

"Whatever."

As she was preparing to set her bed roll down a muffled voice was heard outside the door. "Brother, dinner is ready!"

Getting up from his bed, the Substitute made his way to the door and before opening it, yelled back. "Alright, I'll be right down, Yuzu!"

He spared a glance at her. "I'd ask if you wanted me to bring you something, but I don't think you can eat food from the Living World without a Gigai, right?"

"That would be correct."

The Substitute just shrugged to himself "I better get to dinner then, I'll just let you do whatever it is you do alone, I guess."

She nodded to him before he set off out the door and got back to work on rolling out her temporary sleeping place on the floor. Finally, some peace.

**_"How thoughtful, he's quite the gentleman isn't he?"_**

She dropped what she was doing and pinched the bridge of her nose. Lifting her head up to look at the ceiling, she let out a long and exasperated huff.

**_"Has anyone ever told you that you work fast? Not even one night and you already had a mini-fight and share the same room with him!"_**

She *really* felt like tearing her bed roll in half._ I'm going to destroy you. I don't care how Urahara is going to help me do it, but it's going to happen! And I'm going to be laughing when I hear you begging for your miserable existence._

**_"Yeah, keep telling that to yourself, Queen. And you laughing? Have the planets aligned? Such a thing is a rare oddity outside the occasional chuckle in combat, or that's what I heard at least..."_**

She just glared at the ceiling.

_What will it take to make you stop your inane commentary on my life!?_

**_"Hmm... I'll get back to you on that."_**

Frustrated beyond belief, she decided to just finish laying out her bed roll. She needed some fresh air and an isolated surface far away from prying eyes to smash her head against until *The Voices* stopped speaking to her. There was nothing better to do here at the moment other than that, she may as well.

* * *

_Stupid Ichigo, kicking me out like that. And all I was trying to do was look out for him! I get no respect, no respect at all!_

His inner tirade was broken when he heard a window one room over open and close shortly after Ichigo went downstairs. That probably meant that the other Soul Reaper jumped out of said window and the room was now empty. Perfect. He could sneak back in and hide under the bed or something, to make sure that she didn't try anything funny when his jerk of a friend was asleep!

Leaving the confines of the hallway closet he was currently residing in, he started on his way there. After many moments of tiptoeing and through much strenuous acrobatic effort opening the door, he finally reached his destination. Looking around, he was pleased to note that the room was indeed empty and that he wouldn't be assaulted by anyone's limbs. There was also something else that wasn't usually there; the Soul Reaper's pack and bed roll were on the ground.

He may as well check out the contents of the pack, after all, who knows how many items of dastardly evil she had hidden within it? With that decided he shot towards the pack and began rummaging through it. Only to find a bunch of food, clothes, and various things used to treat injuries. _What the hell was she packing for? A camping trip?_

He was about to give up his search and slip under the bed when he tossed a final piece of clothing out and came face to face with what looked like a stuffed toy cat. If the lion plushy his soul currently inhabited could make complex expressions, it would have looked something akin to complete and wicked mischievousness.

Screw hiding under the damn bed, oh yes, this would do nicely.

* * *

Not much happened when she got back to the house; the Substitute was sprawled out on his bed fast asleep. That wasn't a surprise, she was roaming the neighborhood aimlessly for several hours and it was fairly late. In fact, getting some sleep herself sounded nice. She had a long day and having the darkness of unconsciousness envelop her mind seemed like a perfect way to just forget about it.

Luckily, since the Substitute was sound asleep she could quickly stuff her plushy in her Kosode. No one would find out about that little secret for now. So at least *something* went right lately. She did notice that her things seemed out of place in the pack while digging it out, but they were probably just jostled a bit from all the traveling she had done earlier. No one would dare look into her belongings.

Laying down on her bed roll and closing her eyes, she thought about what she could do tomorrow. Just walking around for a whole week and a half did not seem appealing in the slightest; she needed to busy herself somehow. Perhaps when the Substitute goes to train with his allies tomorrow she could tag along and do some exercises, surely that would keep her occupied for a day or so at the very least.

She was very close to finally drifting off when she heard muffled giggling. She scrunched her brows. _What the hell is it now?_

She almost wished she didn't ask that when she felt movement that was not her own coming from her chest. Shooting her eyes open immediately, she lifted her torso and practically ripped out the offending object from her Kosode. Only to find her plushy wiggling on it's own accord under her iron grip. Confusion and shock was quickly replaced by a dawning realization as to why her things were jumbled. Soon such a seething hatred began to boil in her veins that if looks could kill, then the little abomination in her grasp would have died a thousand painful deaths. Her eyes narrowed to slits and she *squeezed.*

The whimpering sounds the Mod Soul made was music to her ears. She swore the next time she saw him that she would make him suffer and she meant it. The fact that he had the gall to look through her things and defile both her sanctity and that of her cat plush only strengthened her will to carry out that promise.

Bringing her face close to the plush she practically hissed. "I will ask only once. Get out of Mrs. Yoshi. Now."

After the filthy Mod Soul quickly nodded several times, she tossed him at the wall, whining and pleading all the way.

"ICHIGOOOOOO! HEEEEEELLP-Ooof!"

She put a bit more force than intended into the toss though; after the Mod Soul slid to the floor a dent in the wall was revealed.

She was so focused on the little fool that she didn't even notice that the exchange had long ago awoken the Substitute, until he let out a growl through the hand on his face, that is.

"Kon, just get in your own body and go to Urahara's before I let her kill you. Don't argue, just do it. I'm too tired for this crap right now!" With his order complete, the Substitute quickly collapsed back on his bed and put a pillow over his head.

After that outburst she turned back to the Mod Soul and waited, the moment he left her plush and reentered his own body she was going to throw him out the damn window. If that Mod Soul so much as looked at her for the remainder of her stay here, to hell with what Kurosaki said, she was going to eviscerate the little bastard!

* * *

******Ending Notes**: I had a bit of trouble connecting some of the events I had planned and this evolved into more of a funny/transitional chapter instead, Sorry about that. I promise you'll get some action next chapter though.

For those who didn't get the joke behind the name given to the plushy, it was derived from (Yo)ruichi (Shi)hoin, thus *Mrs. Yoshi*, I thought it was funny at least.


	5. Chapter 5

******Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach or anything pertaining to it.

* * *

**Chapter Five.**

* * *

*Thud*

*Whack*

*Clang*

The various sounds of the Substitute's allies practicing their strange powers echoed far throughout the large barren landscape under Urahara's shop.

Looking across the artificial wasteland, she had decided that standing around listening to it for as long as she had, had become quite boring. She had finished her usual exercises an hour or so ago and had been watching Kurosaki and his human companions continue with their training session since then. If there was ever one thing she could admire about them, it would have to be their dedication to improving themselves, shoddy though their exercises may be. She supposed that they really couldn't be berated for that. Considering that their powers were all quite unique to themselves, there was no solid training regimen for their specific skills beyond some of the basics. That was something only they could invent and refine over years of practice.

She narrowed her eyes at the orange haired man as he blocked yet another strike from the Quincy's energized sword. The Substitute had no excuse however; he had plenty of powerful allies living practically on his doorstep to give him the ins and outs. Earlier she had witnessed him and the larger human with the strange arms practicing Hand-to-Hand Combat and she had found that the Substitute, while having sufficient strength and reflexes, was horribly lacking in any formal technique whatsoever. If he were to ever face an opponent of equal power during the unlikely chance that he doesn't have his sword then he would, put simply, get his ass handed to him.

That actually sparked an idea that she had not bothered to come up with earlier. Perhaps she could go down and engage in a spar with the Substitute to pass the time, if she could knock him down a few pegs while doing it, then that would be a minor bonus. Winter War Hero or not, she would show Lady Yoruichi who the better pupil was.

She let loose a slight grin before leaping down the large rock formation she had been observing from and shot off to where the Substitute was currently sparring.

_Let's see how long you last, Kurosaki._

* * *

He had just blocked another strike with Zangetsu when he noticed Uryu back off a little and discharge his overgrown glow-stick. Uryu, pushing his glasses up above his nose in typical Uryu fashion, seemed to be taking a glance somewhere behind him. Shortly after he got his glimpse of whatever he was looking at, he began walking off towards the exit. Without even a hint as to why!

"Hey, what gives?! I thought you wanted to get better with your crazy light saber-thingy, Uryu!

Uryu stopped for a moment at that and looked back with an exasperated expression.

"It's called 'Seele Schneider', Kurosaki. And if you weren't so bad at sensing things you would notice that you have some new company."

Uryu just gave a slight smirk before turning his head back and continued on to the exit.

"Besides, I think it's time for lunch... I'll get the others and be up in the shop, don't take long or there won't be any food left."

Nodding to his friend, he slung Zangetsu over his shoulder and swiveled his head around to get a look at the new arrival. To his honest surprise, it was a certain frowning Captain with her arms clasped behind her back, looking pointedly at him.

He raised his brows a bit at that. "Hunh... Has anyone ever told you that you are very sneaky, Soifon? I didn't even notice you get close."

She just narrowed her eyes at him. "I should hope so, Kurosaki. The one who leads the Stealth Force should naturally be *very sneaky*, so they can properly get close enough to assassinate their targets."

He put on a deadpan expression at that statement. "Well... that makes sense then, I guess... But what are you doing here? I thought you were doing your own thing somewhere farther off."

"Truth be told, Kurosaki. I finished what I was doing some time ago and grew bored of just watching you and your companions. I was wondering if you would like to participate in a short spar with me? I'm certain you can survive several more minutes without eating.

He just shrugged. "I guess, any rules you want to go by?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Hand-to-Hand Combat only, the first to be knocked over three times is the loser."

He planted Zangetsu in the ground, this should be interesting. He hadn't done anything like this since years back when he had Karate classes with Tatsuki. How rough could it be?

He gave off a confident smirk. "Alright, you're on."

She nodded, then drew her Zanpakuto and thrust it into the ground before Shunpoing to a respectable starting distance.

"Let me know when you wish to begin."

Smirk widening slightly, he took up a loose stance that he'd picked up from street fighting during his early teens. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

She just gave a slight smirk of her own, an expression he had yet to see on her, weird.

"Good."

After that statement she had shot at him in a blur of speed. He barely had enough time to block her first punch before he was assaulted by a flurry of jabs to the stomach and subsequently kicked in the face. Blinking, he soon found himself trying to lift his body up off the ground.

_Damn, not even ten seconds in and she had me flat on my ass and down one point!_

"You're not the type to go easy in the beginning, are you?"

Pulling himself up, he winced a little, that was one powerful kick. "I guess this will be a bit tougher than I thought."

"You knew little of your opponent's abilities, Kurosaki. You shouldn't have been so confident; such a habit can get you killed in battle!"

Before he even had the chance to retort she was already in the process of sending another kick to his head. He thankfully blocked it this time, which allowed him to fling her back a few paces. That proved to be an ineffective counter however, as he soon found her springing right back at him with a fist aimed straight for his chest. He made to block that as well, but was surprised to find that the punch was a feint and that he was once again on the ground after having his legs uprooted from under him by a low roundhouse-kick.

"You have one more down before you lose, Kurosaki. I suggest you pull yourself together."

Dragging himself back up, he took a moment to give off a short chuckle. "Heh, you'll have to forgive me, I'm not exactly used to fighting this way."

"Then now should be a perfect opportunity for you to gain some insight into it."

He'd have to be extra careful this time, losing without even getting one good hit in would just be embarrassing.

Bracing himself, he waited for the inevitable relentless attack that Soifon would soon spring on him. He didn't have to wait long; she was off again shortly after telling him her sad excuse for moral support. By now he learned that simply blocking the hit would result in an instantaneous followup attack at anything that was left exposed afterwards. Since he had never gone up against someone who fought like this before, what she would take advantage of during those followups was beyond him. He would have to go on the offensive and take her by surprise if he wanted to have a chance.

With that ironed out in his mind, he decided that he should change things up a bit and throw an attack of his own first. Charging forward to meet his sparring partner head on, he cocked a fist back and launched it at her when she came within range.

Only for her to dodge the attack and grab his arm. Surprise flashed across his face when she quite literally used his arm to launch herself into the air upside down and then spun behind him, sending a kick with both legs straight into his back. It nearly sent him flat on his face, but he just barely managed to put a leg out and give himself a footing.

She had to be recovering from whatever that crazy move was, now was the time for him to strike! He quickly spun around to give a kick of his own, but instead found himself on the receiving end of an elbow to the face and a kick to the Solar Plexus. This, as it so happened was enough to knock him flat on the ground with the wind knocked out of him for the third and final time, apparently he was wrong about the recovery time.

_Damn... she's good..._

Sucking in a breath of air, he slowly got up once more. Only to hear the sound of clapping..?

"Well done Soifon, I should invite you over more often to help Ichigo out in the art of Hakuda, he doesn't seem too good at it."

When the hell did she get here? He knew he was bad at detecting Spiritual Pressure, but come on! At this rate he'd have to beat Uryu over the head until he taught him how to detect things better.

Scrunching his face and raising a fist into the general direction of the crazy cat lady, he decided on giving her a piece of his mind. "What the hell, Yoruichi? It's not like you're teaching me anything about it! So why are you allowed to get off from making fun of me for it!"

Receiving the back of a fist in his face after saying that was not something he had expected.

Rubbing his nose, he took several steps back.

"What the hell was that for!? The match is over already, you won!"

"I'm aware of that, I was disciplining you for not properly addressing Lady Yoruichi with the respect that she deserves."

"You're kidding, right? Why should I? It's not like she cares."

"Because she has graciously taken the time to train you in the past. Such an honor deserves respect, and you should give it.

"Whatever..."

He looked back up to the small rock pile Yoruichi was standing on. "So why are you down here Yoruichi? You're a little late to torture everyone; they already went up in the shop for lunch."

Whatever response he would have gotten had been muffled out by another fist in his face. He could swear he heard Yoruichi laughing it up in the background; he would get her back for this.

"Lighten up a little Soifon, after all these years and you still insist on being so formal. We're all friends here, there's no need for all that."

"Y...yes... Lady Yoruichi, I apologize."

Yoruichi seemed to give a light-hearted sigh at that.

Rolling his eyes, he switched his gaze from Yoruichi to his recent sparring partner, maybe she would be up for a rematch on his terms this time. Chances were that he would find out what Yoruichi wanted soon anyways.

"Tch... Hey, Soifon. Want another match? Nothing but swords this time, I need to get even with you after that beat down you gave me."

As if to prove his predictions correct, that was when Yoruichi decided to pipe in.

"Actually Ichigo, I have something else in mind for you two to compete in. We're going to have a little race, I want to see which of you is faster!"

Damn it, he knew she wanted something, he just hoped it wasn't to pester him with one of her games. It would figure that she would choose the moment he was going to get even with Soifon and then make a break for lunch.

He just gave a slight huff and decided that he might as well get it over with quickly; she won't leave anyone alone until she gets what she wants. Turning back revealed that Yoruichi was missing from her previous spot though. A sharp whistle soon brought his eyes in the correct direction however. She was standing next to Zangetsu and was holding what looked to be Soifon's sword as well... When the hell did she snag that and what was she planning to do now?

Her face was split into a wide grin as she clasped the tang of Zangetsu. "Oh and Ichigo, you aren't allowed to use Bankai."

She wasn't... No. She wouldn't...

"The first to catch me and get their Zanpakuto back wins."

Before he could protest, Yoruichi took off in a combination of Shunpo and swift dashes towards one of the many cliffs in the distance, their Zanpakuto in tow. Apparently she would and did.

Soifon let loose a weak and exasperated sigh before darting off after her. That left him standing there, alone. In other words, last. Again. Normally he wouldn't be able to get close to catching Yoruichi without the help of his Bankai, he just wasn't that fast on his own. Even then, she could still give him quite a chase if she wasn't taking it easy on him, if Soifon was anything like her he wouldn't be winning anytime soon. Unless...

Narrowing his eyes, he brought a hand up and raked at the air across his face, calling forth his hollow mask. If he couldn't use Bankai, then that was fine. His sadistic mentor didn't say anything about using his hollow side's abilities. He'd been working on them since he got his powers back, now was a perfect time to test them out a bit.

With the sound of static crackling in the wake of his recently obtained Sonido, he was off.

* * *

She was halfway caught up to Lady Yoruichi when she heard the sonic-boom of a Sonido drop off to her side. Naturally, that raised several red flags and she sharply turned her head to see what had caused the noise. What greeted her was not the potential enemy that the sound inherently was matched with, but by the Substitute materializing and running some distance beside her. He Smiled behind his skeletal hollow mask and gave her a wave of the hand before another sonic-boom was unleashed, leaving a small dust trail and carrying him further to their target than she was.

She narrowed her eyes to slits as she picked up her pace considerably and Shunpo'd past one of the many small rock piles littered about the landscape.

_So he used his mask because his base speed wasn't enough to beat mine. I'll give him credit for playing dirty, I didn't think he had it in him.  
_

While she admired a person who wasn't above using everything at their disposal, she did not like it when people mocked her. Through years upon years of hard work and conditioning she was able to be called one of the fastest individuals in Soul Society. Just because he was lucky enough to be handed two speed enhancing abilities on a silver platter that put him on par with someone of her level did not give him the right to gloat. He was using them as a crutch for his inadequacies.

Beating him to Lady Yoruichi would be difficult now that he had a head start; her belief that he wouldn't use his hollow abilities for a race would probably cost her the contest.

_****__****____"S__****__o what if he has a little boost from his hollow? I'll bet that I'm faster than both of them and could easily catch up; they wouldn't stand a chance!"_

_I could care less about what you are capable of, be quiet._

**_"You sound a little agitated. You wouldn't happen to be jealous of him, would you?"_**

_I'm fairly certain I have no idea what you're speaking of.  
_

**_"Deny all you want, but it might be shocking to you, as to just how much I know... Regardless, You're probably going to lose at your speed... And it's pathetic... I think it's time that I take control, I know we'll win that way."_**

She clenched her fists, this hollow... was beginning to get on her nerves.

_You won't be doing anything, I won't allow it._

**_"Oh? You think so..?"_**

Her eyes widened when she felt her limbs begin to stiffen slightly. Apparently she wasn't as much in control as she would have liked, wasn't Suzumebachi supposed to be keeping her in check?

**_"Just sit back Queen, let the drone do all the work. Maybe I'll have some fun with the slacker while I'm at it."_**

_You wouldn't dare!_

Despite that proclamation, it seemed that her doppelganger would indeed dare. Her vision was starting to blacken and she felt a strong mental tug at the back of her mind. While she was no stranger to the tug, as she often felt it when she performed Jinzen and wanted to communicate with Suzumebachi, this was different. She had never experienced it quite like this, it felt like something was on the other end of a fishing line, reeling her consciousness in and unlike in Jinzen she couldn't stop it!

Slowing down further and staggering slightly, she was desperately trying to fight the oncoming blackness and blurring of her vision. But... She just felt, so tired all of a sudden.

_Damn her... Not now..._

She took several more wobbly steps before her vision completely blackened. As she was forcibly shoved inside her own consciousness she swore she could hear that infernal hollow cackling at her.

**_"Don't worry, Queen. I just want to have a little fun! Just sit back and relax until I'm finished, hmhehe!"_**

* * *

After passing Soifon, he couldn't help but chuckle. Yes, she may have beat the tar out of him earlier, but he had this one in the bag. He was almost caught up to Yoruichi and soon he would try to snatch Zangetsu back. He just hoped that Zangetsu wouldn't get too upset, he hated it when people managed to get their hands on him.

After a short and quick sprint he used Sonido to close the distance between Yoruichi and himself. He was about to make his final leap and reach for Zangetsu when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck perk up. In the corner of his eye he saw the environment turn a slight shade of dark golden-yellow. Looking back to find the source of the odd color change, he found himself nearly face to face with what looked like a black and yellow Cero. He barely had enough time to dodge it before the thing tore a nearby cliff in half.

_What the hell did that!?_

That question was answered the moment he turned his head away from the destroyed cliff and a familiar figure with very unfamiliar new features burst forth in front of him.

**"Out of the way, slacker! Ahahaha!"**

Once again, he found a fist impacting his head and just as quickly as the laughing woman appeared, she had shot past him and towards a now slightly surprised Yoruichi.

Clutching his face he couldn't help but wonder.

_Was that... Soifon..?_

Shaking his head, he raked a hand across his face to restore his damaged mask and went off after her. This wasn't good, he didn't know what the hell was going on right now, but it looked like Soifon had a hollow mask. Whatever the case may be, he would figure the details out later. Right now he needed to get Zangetsu and knock her to her senses; she did not look like the one in control there. He knew from experience that if she was, then her entire mask would have been formed and she probably wouldn't be throwing Ceros at him like that.

**"Alright cat-freak, hand over Suzy and let us have some fun with the slacker!"**

"So... I take it you're what has my little bee all riled up, hunh? Sorry, but I'm not going to just hand *Suzy* over to you, you're going to have to catch me and take her!"

**"That shouldn't be too difficult!"**

Bringing her arm holding Zangetsu up, Yoruichi sent his Zanpakuto hurtling towards him.

"Hey, Ichigo! Catch!"

With that said Yoruichi shot off shortly after in the opposite direction with Soifon's sword, good. He may not have remembered her name earlier, but he did remember that Zanpakuto of hers had the ability to potentially kill people in two stabs. He really did not want to have to deal with something like that.

As his Zanpakuto spun closer to him he brought out a hand and caught a hold of the tang. Bringing Zangetsu in the proper position in front of him, he let his Spirit Energy wrap the tang's cloth around his arm as he prepared to unleash his Bankai. That mask had to be removed. Quickly.

**"BANKA-UAAGH!"**

He had not expected the possessed person he was trying to help to stop chasing Yoruichi and then to have her burst in front of him. She sent a powerful strike with her knee straight into his gut, knocking the wind out of him before he could finish releasing his Bankai.

Regaining his breath, he had to wonder if he'd been this much of a pain to deal with whenever this used to happen to him. Damn that hurt...

**"Now, now. I can't have you doing that before I get Suzy back; it wouldn't be fair now would it?"**

She just smiled wickedly at him and began charging another Cero in his direction. **"Why don't you take a quick dirt nap, I'll be right back for you after I get Suzy."**

He quickly pulled Zangetsu up to block the inevitable doom blast that was about to be sent his way, he was too close and didn't have the time to dodge it. Fortune smiled upon him however, as it was at that moment that Yoruichi chose to come up from behind and sent a punch to Soifon's elbow in an attempt to redirect the blast. It worked, but the possessed body took that opportunity to grab hold of Yoruichi's opposite arm and snatched Soifon's Zanpakuto out of it. Yoruichi managed to get a hit in on Soifon's mask before she was forced to avoid a flurry of slashes, the damage looked minimal at best, just a few chips.

Landing a kick at Yoruichi's side and back-flipping away, she brought the Zanpakuto close to her smirking face. **"Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi!"**

That wasn't good, he knew his vast amount of Spirit Energy was probably enough to prevent the two hit death rule of her Shikai like Aizen had, but that wouldn't matter if an object that sharp happened to stab through his skull.

Bursting into a blur of motion the woman was standing right in front of him within an instant. Time seemed to slow down as she brought her arm up and brought it down to strike at him. He could certainly track her movements, as he was able to be that fast when he had both his Bankai and mask active. But the fact of the matter was that his Bankai was not active and he couldn't get his body to react quickly enough. Before he could move Zangetsu to fully block the incoming strike he found himself staring at the pointy end of her crazy gauntlet of death. As it slowly inched it's way further towards his face he couldn't help but think that this may hurt a bit.

Thankfully, she stopped her attack shortly after her Shikai was about an inch away from his eye and dropped her arm to her side. A portion of her mask that had managed to form, cracked.

**"Ha... Hahehe... Got you!"**

As the crack began to spread and multiply he couldn't help but feel relieved, it looked like Yoruichi's punch was enough after all and he wouldn't be going home missing an eyeball.

**"Well, I had a blast. But it seems cat-freak cut our fun short. Perhaps another time, slacker."**

He blinked and the mask shattered completely, leaving a wide eyed Soifon staring at him. She stood perfectly still as realization slowly dawned onto her face and then dropped to the ground as if completely taken over by her shock. By the time she seemed to finally pull herself together, she had practically zoomed to the exit of the training room, not a single word was uttered. He would have questioned her about how she got like that, but based off of how fast she fled the scene, he would have to say that now was not the best time. He remembered being in a similar position once.

Pulling off his own mask and letting loose a frown, he turned to Yoruichi. "That's why she is here, isn't it, Yoruichi?"

She had a surprisingly neutral look on her face. "Yes... I had hoped that when I dumped her on you she would open up a bit about it, given your reaction I'm going to assume she didn't say anything."

"No, she didn't."

I'm not too surprised she didn't tell you, she wasn't too thrilled about her new condition and came asking us for help. Kisuke has been working on something that might get her back to the way she was before the accident."

"Accident..?"

With a now solemn look, she turned her head to the exit.

"Yeah... Long story, I'll tell you when we get back up to the shop. Listen, I don't often ask for serious favors like this, but promise me that you'll help her out with this, Ichigo. The thing Kisuke is working on may not work and if that is the case she will need someone who has gone through what she is going through right now. The Vizard probably won't help her given who she is, that leaves you."

He just sighed and looked up at the fake sky. "I'll do what I can, if I can find her that is."

"Thanks. I doubt you'll find her anytime soon though, for now you should catch up to your friends, they are probably wondering what happened to us all the way out here."

"Right."

* * *

******Ending Notes: **Next chapter I feel like making an announcement in the ending Author's Notes that I've been waiting to make since I was scheming chapter two. It has me positively giddy to see your reactions.


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